Scrubbing machine with rotating brush for scrubbing surfaces



N. J. DANIELSSON ET AL 2,680,260 SCRUBBING MACHINE WITH ROTATING BRUSH FOR SCRUBBING SURFACES June 8, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- Filed Aug. 6, 1947 FIG.

FIG.

4 INVENTORS NILS JOHAN DANIELSSON FIG.

y HENNING SUNDIN ATTORNEY Patented June 8, 1954 NE WITH ROTATING BRUSH FOR SCRUBBING SURFACES Nils Johan Danielsson, Motala, Sweden, and Henning Sundin, Addis Ababa, Abyssinia Application August 6, 1947, Serial No. 766,496

SCRUBBING MACHI l 3 Claims.

This invention relates to scrubbing machines, and more particularly to a scrubbing machine of the type in which a cleaning liquid, for instance clean water or soapy water, is supplied to the surface to be scrubbed, and the scrubbing is effected by means of a rotating brush.

One object of the invention is to improve the removal of the used water from the scrubbed surface and to prevent leaving a portion of the Water on said surface.

Another object is to provide a good contact of the scrubbing brush with the surface to be scrubbed.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

A scrubbing machine according to the invention comprises a casing, a liquid tank, a rotatable brush, means for rotating said brush, means for supplying liquid from said tank to the surface to be scrubbed, a mouth-piece facing the periphery of said brush in close proximity thereof and formed so as to collect the liquid hurled by said brush, and suction means connected to said mouth-piece.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through one form of the improved scrubbing machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through another form of the scrubbing machine according to the invention; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section through the plane 4-4 in Fig. 3 showing the connection of a suction pipe to the mouth-piece; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail in section showing a modified form of the arrangement'of the rotatable brush; Fig. 6 is another fragmentary detail in section showing the combination of a vacuum cleaner pipe with the mouth-piece of the scrubbing machine, and Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section showing a .modified arrangement of the rotatable brush and a correspondingly modified form of the mouthpiece.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1' and 2, the scrubbing machine there represented comprises a casing l5 mounted on wheels I4 and adapted to be pushed along the surface to be scrubbed by means of a bifurcated handle it fixed to the casing [5. A horizontal partition l1 divides the casing into an upper compartment 2 serving as liquid tank and into a lower compartment containing a rotatable brush 5, a centrifugal pump 4, an electromotor .6, and gears 1 for driving the brush and the pump by the motor.

The brush 5 is surrounded by a circular mouthpiece |0 facing the periphery of the brush in close proximity thereof and serving tocollect liquid outwardly hurled by the brush. To this end, the lower portion of the mouth-piece has an internal peripheral groove and ends in an inwardly turned ring the sharp edge of which is springy in vertical direction and adapted to engage the surface to be scrubbed at an acute angle. In order to secure an intimate contact between the mouth-piece and the surface to be scrubbed, the mouth-piece is preferably made of an elastic material such as rubber, and is supported in the lower end of the casing l5 by springs 9 so as to be vertically movable in said casing.

Pipes H connect one side of the pump 4 with various points of the groove formed by mouthpiece ID and a pipe 3 connects the other side of the pump with the upper portion of the tank 2 which is separated from its lower portion by a filter l and covered by a removable lid l8. In the bottom I! of the tank 2 there is a valve '44 the opening of which communicates with a pipe 8 which leads to the center portion of the brush 5. The valve can be operated by a handle 13 on the top of the casing I5. The tank 2 can be drained by means of a tap l2 provided in the casing l5 near the bottom of the tank. 7

In operation of the scrubbing machine, the lid I8 is removed and water containing a cleansing compound or solution is filled into the tank 2. Then the lid is put on again, the valve 44 is opened and the motor 6 is started for rotating the brush 5 and driving the pump 4. The machine is now pushed by the handle 16 over a surface to be scrubbed and cleansing solution will flow through the opening of valve 44, the pipe 8 and the center portion of the brush 5 to the surface to be scrubbed. As the cleansing solution is thrown outwardly by the rotating brush, it will be collected by the groove of mouth-piece I 0 surrounding the brush and directed thereby to the pipes l I, thus returning through the pump 4, the pipe 3 and the filter I to the tank 2, whereupon it may be used again.

The scrubbing machine shown in Fig. 3 is generally similar to that of Fig. 1, and corresponding parts thereof are designated by the same reference characters though primed. In this modification, there is a separate liquid tank 2' within the casing l5, and the motor 6 is arranged beside the tank. The tank has a conical bottom l7 and the tap l2 communicates with the lowest point of this bottom, thus facilitating the discharge of the tank. The valve 44' for supplying cleansing liquid from the tank to the surface to be scrubbed is in the side wall of the tank and can be operated by a handle 13' arranged at the side of the casing [5.

The rotary brush 5 is fixed to a rotary pipe 36 forming a center shaft of the brush and communicatin with a stationary pipe 8 connected to the valve 44'. The pipe 30 is rotatable in a ball-bearing 41 arranged in a plate 26 which is vertically movable in the lowest portion of the casing l5 and is pressed downwards by springs 9' bearing against a support 4| attached to the casing l5. In order to protect the ball-bearing 41 from the liquid thrown by the brush, a packing 29 is provided between the plate 26 and the rotary pipe 30. The mouth-piece III is attached to the plate 26 and is in so close proximity of the brush 5' that the periphery thereof touches the sharp edge of the lower portion of the mouthpiece, which is again provided with an internal peripheral groove and a comparatively sharp contact edge thus throwing the liquid particles from the scrubbed surface right into the groove of the mouth-piece.

The pump 4 is here coaxial with the motor 6' and is preferably of a type adapted to suck air as well as liquid. The shaft of the pump supports cog wheel 1' meshing with a second cog wheel 28 fixed to the rotary pipe 39 for rotating the brush 5. The height of the cog wheel 1 is substantially larger than that of the cog wheel 23 so that these wheels remain in meshin position, even when the plate 26 moves upwards or downwards.

The mouth-piece I0. is connected with the suction side of the pump 4' by on or more suction pipes ll. As shown in Fig. 4, the end portion 3| of these pipes communicating with the mouth-piece is preferably arranged so that the inlet opening of each pipe faces the liquid drops hurled by the brush in the direction of the arrow 32. This means that the aforesaid end portion of the pipes H is substantially tangential to the circular opening of the groove of the mouth-piece.

As it is possible that due to some unevenness of the surface to, be scrubbed, in spite of the advantageous configuration and position of the mouth-piece l, liquid particles may be thrown by the brush beyond the mouth-piece, a circular absorbing filter 23 is fitted in the underside of the mouth-piece. In order to improve the efiect of this filter, it is advantageous to arrange this filter in a circular groove 24, and to connect this groove to the suction side of the pump 4 by means of suction pipes 25.

A pipe 3' connects the pressure side of pump 4' with the portion of the tank 2' situated above the filter I. In order to prevent the development of an air pressure in the tank 2 which would impair the suckin effect of the pump 4, an air outlet I9 is provided in the cover of the tank. A baffle 20 is arranged beneath this air outlet.

The tank can be filled with liquid through an I opening in its cover which opening can be closed by a plug 2i. A pipe 46 connecting the pump 4' with the tank 2' and closable by a valve 45 having a handle 21 serves to supply starting liquid to the pump.

The operation of the machine shown in Fig. 3 is generally similar to that of the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;. Of course, prior to the starting of the motor not only the valve, 44 but. also. the valve 45 has tobe opened.

According to the arrangement of Fig. 5, the adjustability of brush 5 relative to casing I5 is further increased by mounting the brush axially slidable on the lower portion of pipe The brush is biased downwardly by a spring 34 abutting against the plate 26 and a bearing 33 secured to brush 5".

If so desired, the scrubbin machine can be combined with a vacuum cleaner, by arranging a vacuum cleaner nozzle near the outer periphery of the mouth-piece, as shown in Fig. 6. This nozzle can be connected, by means of a pipe 35, to the pump G or to a separate air suction pump, not shown.

Fig. '7 shows a modification of the scrubbing machine in which the horizontally rotatable brush is replaced by a cylindrical brush 38 rotatable jointly with a horizontal axle 39 in the direction of the arrow 33. A straight internally grooved mouth-piece ii) is arranged on the side of the brush to which the brush hurls the liquid from the surface scrubbed by it. Otherwise, the configuration and the position of the mouthpiece with respect to the brush are the same as described in connection with the machines shown in Figs. 1 to 3. The mouth-piece i0" is held in position, and partly formed, by a semi-cylindrical case Ml surrounding the upper portion of the brush and supported in the casing l5 by springs 9 bearing against supports M While there have been described whatare at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A scrubbing machine for scrubbing surfaces comprising a casing, a tank for liquid mounted within said casing, conduit means for supplying liquid from said tank to the surface to be scrubbed, a circular brush rotatable about a vertical axis and means for rotating said brush disposed within said casing, the said brush having a portion protruding outwardly from the easing for engagement with the surface to be scrubbed, a circular mouth-piece made of elastic material facing the periphery of said brush in close proximity thereto and having an internal peripheral groove formed so as to collect the liquid thrown off by said brush, said groove forming in the mouth-piece an inwardly turned ring adapted to engage the surface to be scrubbed at an acute angle relative to the said surface and to touch the latter with a comparatively sharp edge springy in vertical direction, absorbing filter means supported by the mouth-piece so as to extend from the side of the mouth-piece facing the surface to be scrubbed, a plate vertically movable in said casing and supporting said mouthpiece, springs yieldably supporting said plate in said casing, and suction means communicating with said groove in said mouth-piece,

2. A scrubbin machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said mouth-piece is formed with an annular groove in its bottom face, and wherein said absorbing filter means are fitted in said annular groove protruding therefrom for engagement with the surface to be scrubbed.

3. A scrubbing machine as defined in claim 2, in which said suction means comprises pump 5 means having a pressure side and a suction side and adapted to pump liquid and air, and conduit means connecting the pressure side of said pump means to said tank for liquid and the suction side to said grooves formed in the mouthpiece.

- References Cited in the filev of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number :3 Name Date Onofrio Apr. 19, 1927 Deutscher Oct. 9, 1928 Johnston Mar. 31, 1931 Kuchinsky Sept. 1, 1931 Jerome Dec. 27, 1932 Nadig May 28, 1935 Stoddard Dec. 3, 1935 Simon Nov. 8, 1938 Nadig Dec. 3, 1940 Williamson June 3, 1941 Boccasile July 22, 1941 

